Hand restraining device



May 1 1, 1965 H. M. ZURBUCHEN 3,182,657

HAND RESTRAINING DEVICE Filed Dec. 31, 1962 lNV EN TOR. HAZEL MARIE ZuRBua/m 'ilwm Mm A TTORIVEVS United States Patent O 3,182,657 HAND RESTRAINENG DEVIQE Hazel Marie Zurbuchen, 319 N. 16th, Kansas City, Karts. Filed Dec. 31, 1962, Ser. No. 248,794 3 Claims. (or. 128133) This invention relates to restraining devices for use on persons, and more particularly to a restraining device adapted to be applied to a persons hand for use in the care of insane or incompetent persons.

In the case of insane and incompetent persons, it is frequently necessary to restrain such person to prevent him from injuring himself or others or property thereby. Heretofore, hand restraining devices having open ends have been utilized; however, the person being restrained may be able to work the restraint up on his arm to expose his fingers and, as the result, the person may be able to unbutton or'unfasten his garments and remove same, may be able to scratch himself or others, so that with such restraints to be effective it has frequently been necessary to tighten the securing arrangement about the wrist to the extent that it interferes with blood circulation. Other restraints have also presented disadvantages as some are such that the person may double up his hand in a fist inside the restraint and, in structures to avoid such action, the hand has been engaged to the extent that it is substantially immobile or has insufiicient air circulation, resulting in discomfort to the person.

The principal objects of the present invention are to provide a restraining device that may be readily applied to the hand of a person without injury to the hand or discomfort to the person; to provide such a hand restraint of a fabric material that permits air circulation about the hand; to provide such a hand restraint which is so constructed that it does not restrict motion of the persons hand, but does restrict use of the hand and prevent it being clenched into a fist;'to provide a hand restraining device that is in the form of an envelope open at one end and having stiffening members extending substantially over the area of the palm and fingers of the hand and adjacent the closed end of the envelope whereby the person is unable to engage the ends of the stiffening portions with the ends of his fingers; to provide such a structure wherein the stiffening members are of limited flexibility to permit some movement of the hand; to provide such a structure wherein the envelope and portions receiving the stiffening members are formed of fabric and the stiffening members are removable whereby the fabric portions may be laundered to facilitate maintenance of a sanitary structure; to provide such a structure with tightening means at the wrist portion wherein the tightening means includes a safety type fastener that resists excessive tightening and accidental unfastening; and to provide a hand restraining device that is economical to manufacture and easily maintained.

' Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein are set forth by way of illustration and example certain embodiments of this invention.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a hand restraining device with portions broken away to illustrate the structure.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the hand restraining device.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view through the hand restraining device taken on the line 33, FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a transverse sectional view through the hand restraining device taken on the line 44, FIG. 3.

Referring more in detail to the drawings:

The reference numeral 1 generally designates a hand restraining device which includes a body member 2 in the form of an envelope having an opening 3 at one end 4 ice with an interior chamber 5 of suitable size and shape to receive the hand and a portion of a wrist of a person to be restrained. The restraint also includes stiffening sheets or members 6 arranged to overlie the back and front of the hand and fingers and cooperate with envelope to permit movement of the fingers but prevent the fingers from grasping anything and also prevent clenching the hand into a fist. The restraint also includes a portion of the envelope between the end 4 and the stiffening members 6 that is adapted to encompass the wrist of a person with a member 7 extending circumferentially about said wrist portion and adapted to be tightened to secure the envelope about said wrist.

In the structure illustrated, the body member or envelope 2 is preferably formed of two sheets 8 and 9 of fabric having a porosity permitting air to pass therethrough such as muslin or other suitable washable fabric with long wearing characteristics. The sheets 8 and 9 form opposed walls and are suitably secured together at both sides 10 and 11 and at one end 12 to provide the opening 3 at the other end. It is preferred that the sheets be shaped whereby they are widest at the open end of the envelope with the side edges curving inwardly as at 13 toward the closed end as at 12 to reduce the width adjacent thereto and that said closed end 12 be rounded. In the structure illustrated, the edges of the sheets 8 and 9 at the sides and closed end are arranged in overlying relation and sewed with the exposed edges covered by suitable binding 14 so as to present a smooth surface at the edges.

The stiffening members 6 are preferably in the form of sheets of substantial length and Width as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 and preferably are yieldable with a limited flexibility. It is preferred that the stiffening members he of yaca board or a suitable plastic such as polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride or the like with a yieldability and stiffness characteristic similar to yaca board. It is also preferred for the stiffening members to be removably mounted on the body member whereby they can be conveniently removed and permit the structure to be laundered to maintain same in a clean sanitary condition. In the structure illustrated, the stiffening members are retained in pocket members 15 arranged on the outer faces 16 and 17 of the sheets 8 and 9 respectively with said stiffening members of a length substantially corresponding to the length of the hand and fingers of the person to be restrained, and with the ends 18 of the stiffening members adjacent the closed end 12 of the body member being spaced from said closed end so that when the sheets 8 and 9 are moved apart to accommodate the fingers adjacent the closed end 12 the end 18 of the stiffening members will be approximately at the closed end of the restraint as illustrated in FIG. 3. The pocket members 15 preferably are formed by sheets 19 of fabric of the same type as the sheets 8 and 9, the sheets 19 of the fabric being secured to the outer faces of the sheets 8 and 9 preferably along opposed side edges 20 and at the end 21 adjacent the closed end 12 of the body member to provide an open end 22 of the pocket, said open end being toward the open end 4 of the body. In the structure illustrated, the side edges 20 and end edge 21 of the pocket forming sheets 19 are secured to the respective sheets 8 and 9 in overlying relation to the outer surfaces 16 and 17 respectively by means of lines of stitching 23, as illustrated in FIG. 2. A pocket closure member 24 is arranged for each pocket 15 and, in the illustrated structure, the closure 24 is in the form of a flap that overlies the open end of the pocket. Each flap or closure 24 is formed by a strip of fabric secured to the body member by lines of stitching 25 atrside edges 26 and at one end edge 27 adjacent to but spaced from the open end of the pocket, as illustrated in FIG. 2. The stitching 25 at the sides of the flap also is preferably spaced outwardly from the side edges 20 of the pocket members 15 so the edges 28 of the flap can be pulled up and toward the end 4 of the body member to provide access to the interior of the pocket 15 whereby the stiffener member 6 may be inserted or removed from the respective pocket.

The fastening member 7 in the illustrated structure is in the form of a fabric strap 29 having a buckle 30 at one end thereof. Fabric loops 31 are secured to the body member on the portion thereof adapted to overlie the wrist of a person to be restrained, said loops extending longitudinally of the body member whereby the openings 32 therein receive the strap 29 whereby it extends circumferentially of the wrist portion. It is preferred that the buckle 30 be adjacent the edge 11 of the body member with the sheet 8 thereof covering the back of the hand. It is also preferred that the strap 29 be secured as by stitching 33 to the sheet 8 between spaced loops 31. A plurality of loops are also arranged on the sheet 9, and it is preferred that one be arranged adjacent the edge 11 so that in tightening the strap about a persons wrist said adjacent loop on the sheet 9 will approach the end of the buckle 30 and resist excessive tightening of the strap. The buckle 30 preferably has prongs 34 adapted to extend into the strap and there is a keeper 35 on the buckle to cover the exposed points and thereby prevent injury thereby.

In a structure constructed as described, the flap edges '28 may be raised and the stiffening members 6 removed from the respective pockets 15. Then the remaining portions of the restraining device may be laundered as desired to maintain same clean and sanitary. When it is ready to use a restraining device, the flap edges 28 are raised and the stiffening members 6 placed in the respective pockets 15 and the flaps 24 returned to the pocket-closing position. Then the open end 4 of the body member is spread and the persons hand inserted into the opening 3 until the ends of his fingers are substantially at the closed end 12 of the body member or envelope. Then the free end 36 of the strap 29 is inserted through the buckle 30 and drawn to gather the wrist portion of the body memher about the wrist of the person so it is sufficiently tight to maintain the restraint on the person but not shunt off the circulation. The prongs 34 are then inserted through the strap and the keeper 35 moved over the ends of the prongs to cover same. It is preferred that the free end 36 of the strap then be inserted through an adjacent loop 31 and then the restraint will serve to enclose the persons hand.

The fabric permits air circulation therethrough. Also the fabric is sufficiently flexible that it permits some movement and the stiffening members 6 also provide some movement but prevent longitudinal bending so that when on a person he cannot clench his hand into a fist, he can move his fingers but not to grasp anything, he will not be able to scratch himself or others, nor can he engage the ends of the stiffening members with the fingertips to effect any removal of said stiffening members. The nature of the stiffening members is such that while they provide some rigidity they are not hard so that if the person strikes another the device will not serve as a weapon. The structure of the restraint is simple and economical to manu- 4 facture, it is easily applied and removed and may be washed to maintain it substantially clean and sanitary.

It is to be understood that while I have illustrated and described one form of my invention, it is not to be limited to the specific form or arrangement of parts herein described and shown except insofar as such limitations are included in the claims.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters patent is:

1. A hand restraining device comprising,

(a) an envelope of fabric having a generally rectangular top wall and bottom wall and side and end margins, said Walls being opposed and joined at said side and one of said end margins, said envelope having an open end opposite said one end margin and a length and width to receive a hand therein through said opening with a portion of said envelope adjacent said open end surrounding the wrist adjacent said hand,

(b) a generally rectangular layer of fabric on said top wall and bottom wall, said layers of fabric being a lesser length and width than said walls and each having front and side edges respectively spaced inwardly from said side and end margins, said layers of fabric having three of the four edges thereof secured to said respective walls in opposed positions forming respective flat opposed pockets of a size extending substantially the length of the fingers and palm and the width of the palm of the hand,

(c) a normally fiat stiffening member of limited flexibility received in each of said pockets and substantially filling same without deformation of said member,

(d) means cooperating with said respective walls at the unsecured edges of said pockets to restrict the opening of said pockets to retain said stiffening members therein, and

(6) means cooperating with said envelope at said portion of said envelope adjacent the wrist for tightening same about the wrist to retain the hand in the envelope.

2. The device as set forth in claim 1, wherein,

(a) said means to restrict the opening of said pockets comprises a fabric flap covering said unsecured edges of said pockets and having substantially all edges secured to one of said walls where not extending across the respective pockets.

3. The device as set forth in claim 1, wherein,

(a) said tightening means comprises a strap surrounding said envelope portion adjacent the wrist, and including means on said last named portion for securing said strap thereon.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 973,330 10/10 Wood l28-133 1,944,451 1/34 Newman 128--134 2,043,153 6/36 Cox 128133 2,755,803 7/56 Dorsey 128-254 3,091,773 6/63 Andrews 2-247 RICHARD A. GAUDET, Primary Examiner. 

1. A HAND RESTRAINING DEVICE COMPRISING, (A) AN ENVELOPE OF FABRIC HAVING A GENERALLY RECTANGULAR TOP WALL AND BOTTOM WALL AND SIDE AND END MARGINS, SAID WALLS BEING OPPOSED AND JOINED AT SAID SIDE AND ONE OF SAID END MARGINS, SAID ENVELOPE HAVING AN OPEN END OPPOSITE SAID ONE END MARGING AND A LENGTH AND WIDTH TO RECEIVE A HAND THEREIN THROUGH SAID OPENING WITH A PORTION OF SAID ENVELOPE ADJACENT SAID OPEN END SURROUNDING THE WRIST ADJACENT SAID HAND, (B) A GENERALLY RECTANGULAR LAYER OF FABRIC ON SAID TOP WALL AND BOTTOM WALL, SAID LAYERS OF FABRIC BEING A LESSER LENGTH AND WIDTH THAN SAID WALLS AND EACH HAVING FRONT AND SIDE EDGES RESPECTIVELY SPACED INWARDLY FROM SAID SIDE AND END MARGINS, SAID LAYERS OF FABRIC HAVING THREE OF THE FOUR EDGES THEREOF SECURED TO SAID RESPECTIVE WALLS IN OPPOSED POSITIONS FORMING RESPECTIVE FLAT OPPOSED POCKETS OF A SIZE EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY THE LENGTH OF THE FINGERS AND PALM AND THE WIDTH OF THE PALM OF THE HAND, (C) A NORMALLY FLAT STIFFENING MEMBER OF LIMITED FLEXIBILITY RECEIVED IN EACH OF SAID POCKETS AND SUBSTANTIALLY FILLING SAME WITHOUT DEFORMATION OF SAID MEMBER, (D) MEANS COOPERATING WITH SAID RESPECTIVE WALLS AT THE UNSECURED EDGES OF SAID POCKETS TO RESTRICT THE OPENING OF SAID POCKETS TO RETAIN SAID STIFFENING MEMBERS THEREIN, AND (E) MEANS COOPERATING WITH SAID ENVELOPE AT SAID PORTION OF SAID ENVELOPE ADJACENT THE WRIST FOR TIGHTENING SAME ABOUT THE WRIST OF RETAIN THE HAND IN THE ENVELOPE. 